1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus for securing electronic devices into notebooks. Particularly, the present invention relates to apparatus for releasably securing a hand-held or portable electronic device to the rings of a loose-leaf support assembly, such as a binder-type notebook. More specifically, the present invention relates to apparatus for securing an electronic device within the notebook of a time management or other planning-type organizer system.
2. Background of Related Art
Due to the ever-decreasing size of electronic devices and the ever-increasing use of notebooks which include time management or other planning systems, various apparatus have been developed to make small electronic devices, such as calculators, readily accessible to the users of such notebooks, and in conjunction with information contained within the notebook.
Some of these apparatus secure a calculator to the rings of binder-type notebooks. These apparatus typically include integral calculators and small, circular apertures disposed along an edge thereof to facilitate securing of the apparatus to the rings of a binder. Since the calculators are an integral part of each of these apparatus, they may not be removed therefrom. Thus, unless the calculator is removed from the rings of the binder, the calculator cannot be accessed concurrently with information from any pages of the notebook that are not adjacent to the calculator. Moreover, such apparatus may not be employed to secure more than one type of electronic device to a notebook. The small, circular apertures of these apparatus are also somewhat undesirable, as they may only be used in a specific type of notebook having a specific number of rings that are laterally spaced apart discrete distances from one another. Apparatus exemplary of this configuration are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. Des. 345,757 ("the '757 Patent"), which issued to Webb et al. on Apr. 5, 1994; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 343,187 ("the '187 Patent"), which issued to Webb et al. on Jan. 11, 1994; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,209,592 ("the '592 Patent"), which issued to Bedol on May 11, 1993.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,918,632 ("the '632 Patent"), which issued to York on Apr. 17, 1990, discloses a notebook-type computer that includes a housing that may be secured to the rings of a binder-type notebook. As with the calculators discussed above, the computer is integrated within the housing. Thus, the housing may not be used to secure other electronic devices to the rings of a binder-type notebook. The housing also includes small, circular apertures along the top of the computer for securing the electronic device to the rings of a binder-type notebook. Thus, as with the aforementioned calculators, the housing may only be secured to notebooks of a limited size and having a limited number of rings which are laterally-spaced, discrete distances from one another.
An apparatus that may be employed to secure a variety of hand-held electronic devices within a variety of binder-type notebooks is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,597,256 ("the '256 Patent"), which issued to Burton et al. on Jan. 28, 1997. The apparatus of the '256 Patent is an insert that includes a flat member to which a hand-held electronic device, such as a calculator, may be secured by attaching one member of complementary hook and loop materials to the flat member, and the other hook or loop material member to the back of the electronic device. The use of hook and loop materials to secure the electronic device to the flat member is, however, somewhat undesirable since, over time, the hook material tends to gather lint, which may reduce the affinity of the hook and loop materials for one another. Moreover, the mutual affinity with which the hook and loop materials secure the electronic device to the flat member may not be adequate to retain the electronic device on the flat member if the notebook that holds the insert is dropped.
Other inserts for securing hand-held electronic devices into binder-type notebooks are marketed by Franklin Covey Co., the assignee of the invention disclosed herein. These inserts are configured to capture or retain the peripheries or features on the peripheries of the hand-held electronic devices disposable in the receptacles of these inserts. When an electronic device is secured within the receptacle of one of these inserts, the insert surrounds the periphery of the electronic device in order to capture or retain the electronic device. Thus, these devices have somewhat larger dimensions than the electronic devices to be secured thereto and, therefore, may be relatively bulky with respect to the electronic devices to be secured thereto, making the use of these inserts in a binder somewhat undesirable. Moreover, each of these inserts, as marketed, is configured to receive electronic devices having specific shapes and/or a narrow range of height, width, and thickness dimensions.
Other apparatus secure calculators or other electronic devices to the rigid cover of a notebook or any other book by means of mounts, sleeves, or clamps. An exemplary apparatus of this type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,832,191 ("the '191 Patent"), which issued to Gerver et al. on May 23, 1989. The apparatus of the '191 Patent includes a sleeve that envelops a substantial portion of the rigid cover. A flap, which holds and exposes the display and keys of a calculator, is hingedly attached to the sleeve. The design of the device of the '191 Patent is somewhat undesirable, however, in that the sleeve may slide along the rigid cover of the notebook and may, therefore, not adequately secure the calculator to the cover of the notebook. The sleeve may be further undesirable from an aesthetic standpoint, since it is exposed on the exterior of the rigid cover of a notebook or other book.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,232,301 ("the '301 Patent"), which issued to Bianco on Aug. 3, 1993, discloses a binder which includes an apparatus for securing an electronic device, such as a calculator, thereto. The apparatus is permanently secured to the cover of the binder by a mounting bracket. A frame, which is secured to the mounting bracket by a hinge, is rotatably mounted to a slipcase, in which the electronic device may be removably disposed. This arrangement facilitates use of the calculator while the binder is closed or open, as well as use of the calculator while accessing pages that are bound to the rings of the binder. The design of the apparatus of the '301 Patent is somewhat undesirable, however, in that the electronic device must be removed therefrom in order to communicate with any external devices, such as printers, computers, or other electronic devices. Moreover, the mounting bracket of the mechanism of the '301 Patent is partially exposed to the exterior of the binder cover, making it somewhat undesirable from an aesthetic standpoint. Furthermore, since the apparatus is permanently mounted to the binder, it may not be removed from the binder when removal is desired. Nor may the apparatus be used in conjunction with another notebook.
Thus, an apparatus is needed for removably attaching an electronic device to the retaining elements of loose-leaf support assemblies in a manner that securely, yet removably retains the electronic device, which apparatus is itself removable form the support assembly, and which does not consume a significantly greater amount of space within the support assembly than the amount of space consumed by the electronic device secured thereto. An apparatus is also needed which enables attachment of electronic devices to a variety of support assemblies that have different numbers of retaining elements or to a variety of different support assemblies of which the retaining elements are laterally spaced apart different distances from one another. There is also a need for an apparatus that facilitates communication between an electronic device secured thereto and external equipment as the electronic device is attached to a support assembly.